Top 10 States with the Best Household Income

“Virginia is for lovers” the saying goes and clocking in at number 9 on our list of states with the highest median household income gives it a good reason to be “for lovers.” Virginia’s largest industry is that of agriculture bring in a hefty $52 billion annually and employing hundreds of thousands within the state. The state is extremely tax friendly, especially towards those who are retired, giving them a tax break on social security income.

Though not an official state, number 8 on our list of states with the highest median household income brings us to none other than our nation’s capital, Washington DC. Obviously the largest industry in Washington DC revolves around the government but tourism takes up its fair share of industry as well. In 2015 Washington DC welcomed over 21.3 million tourists, 2 million of which traveled from overseas to visit our nations capital. Tourists in Washington DC collectively spent $7.10 billion in 2015.

It’s the Granite State and it’s also number 7 on our countdown of states with the highest household income. With no income tax, New Hampshire relies greatly on its taxes derived from property. Making it appealing for both wealthy and non-wealthy individuals alike. Its number one industry is manufacturing and high tech, an industry known for paying big bucks.

Massachusetts is home to some of the world’s largest financial consulting industries. Boston Consulting, Liberty Mutual, Bain & Company among others are headquartered in the state of Massachusetts. Aside from the large median income, there is a strong historical presence within the state. From the pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock to The Boston Tea Party, Massachusetts has deep roots that can still be seen in our everyday society.

Aloha! The tropical paradise of Hawaii comes in 5th place for our top 10 state median household income. Hawaii happens to be the last state to join the US, but aren’t we glad they did! No doubt that Hawaii’s number one industry is tourism. In 2014 a staggering 8.3 million tourists visited Hawaii bringing in $14.7 billion to the Hawaiian economy. People come from all over the world to spend their vacation in this tropical paradise and their booming economy is able to reap the rewards.

“The Constitution State,” as it’s called and it clocks in at number 4 on our countdown of the top 10 state median household income. Being the 5th state to join our nation, Connecticut has deep roots in American history. Connecticut’s largest industries revolve around financial services and insurance. In fact, Connecticut happens to have the highest amount of insurance jobs per capita in the nation.

Alaska happens to be the largest state in the US, and also one of the least populated. Alaska offers great incentives for living in the coldest state in the nation. Like offering the lowest tax rate in the US of just 3.43%. Alaska’s largest industry by far is in oil but the tourism and fishing industries are booming as well. Because of their abundance of Oil, the Alaskan government set up a perpetual fund in which 25% of all oil revenue goes. Each resident of the state revives a dividend check annually, in 2015 the Alaskan government paid $2,072.

Welcome to “The Garden State.” New Jersey is ranked number 2 for annual household income. Even though the state is on the high end of the income and property tax scale, New Jersey has still been able to receive larger than usual wages. Many are attributing the large median income to the high percentage of college bachelor degrees held by its residence. One sixth of all biopharmaceutical companies are located in New Jersey, making it the number one industry in the state.

The state with the highest annual household income is Maryland. The median income is nearly $20,000 higher than the United States average. 37% of residence in the state have obtained a bachelor degree or higher, that’s 8% higher than the US average of 29%. Maryland residence are employed highly in the aerospace and defense industry due to the eight and a half thousand aerospace and defense companies that reside there, bringing in $35 billion in annual resident income.

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Alan Olsen, is the Host of the American Dreams Show and the Managing Partner of GROCO.com.  GROCO is a premier family office and tax advisory firm located in the San Francisco Bay area serving clients all over the world.

Alan L. Olsen, CPA, Wikipedia Bio

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